When the First Tear Falls
by XxEmbraceTheWeirdnessxX
Summary: What would've happened if Dally lived?
1. Chapter 1

**My first Outsiders one-shot. I hope you like it.**

**I do not own the outsiders.**

**When the First Tear Falls**

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Two distinct bangs could be heard over the wail of the police sirens. Dally's body jerked to the side as the bullets hit him. A scream was added to the escalating situation at hand. With shock, I realized it was me. Sodapop was the first to make it to Dally and the rest of the gang and I quickly followed.

The police shouted at us to get down on the ground but no one listened. Not even Darry. A small puddle of blood was slowly building around Dally and his shirt was already soaked with blood. He looked even worse than he did the day of the church fire. His skin was paler than usual and slick with sweat. His hair was matted and he seemed to be losing consciousness. His icy blue eyes blinked rapidly and it didn't even look like he could feel the bullet wounds in him.

I briefly wondered what it was like to be shot. Was it as painful as being stabbed? After that, I couldn't help but think of Bob. Compared to Dally he was a saint but it shocked me how similar they were. Both cocky and prideful. Being loved by Cherry Valance. Dying young. That's when it hit me. Dallas Winston was **dying** at my feet and I couldn't do anything about it

Someone had called for an ambulance, I could hear the sirens from here, and you could see people stumbling out of their houses, still half asleep, in their night gowns and robes, to see what was all the fuss about. I wanted to push them all away; to keep them away from Dally. Dally was bleeding out and I had an awful feeling that something was wrong.

Two-Bit had taken off his shirt and had pressed it to Dally's side to staunch the blood flow. Dally was getting paler by the minute and I mentally cussed out the ambulance for not driving quickly. A couple of minutes later the ambulance finally showed up, sirens blaring ready to load Dally in. When Darry said to one of the young men that we wanted to come, he just stared Darry down. "I'm sorry but only family is allowed in the van," he said.

This seemed to rile Two-Bit up who I'd never seen so angry as he was at that man right then. He had shouted at the man for a good minute about how we were all Dally had left since Johnny was dead. The man blinked in shock and hurried us on to the emergency truck before Two-Bit decked him.

The ride was short and silent. Nobody spoke. I was glad nobody spoke. What was there to say? Our faces showed what we were thinking already. We were hoping that Dally would be okay. To lose Johnny and Dally in one night would be too much to bear.

When we got to the hospital, Dally was immediately carted off to the emergency room. Nurses and doctors were hovering over him and I knew if he was awake that would be telling them to buzz off and that he was fine.

We were forced to wait in the visitor's area while Dally was being operated on. We sat in silence and tried to ignore the stares and whispers of the other visitors. I'm sure we looked almost as bad as Dally with our injuries from the rumble. My head was still aching from that kick from the Soc. I must have looked in pain because Darry was standing over me, inspecting me for injuries.

When he touched my head, I winced as a sharp pain ran through me. He told Sodapop to get a nurse when he saw me wince. Sodapop returned shortly with a middle-aged woman in tow. She had light blonde hair twisted into a bun. Her eyes were blue and kind and she had a warm smile. She took my hand and began to tow me to an examination room along with anyone who seemed injured in the gang.

When I took the first step, everything wobbled in and out of focus and my body went limp and met the ground.

When I awoke, the first thing I noticed was the machinery surrounding me. A IV needle had been jabbed into my arm and my head was bandaged. The bandages needed to be changed and dried blood was caked in my hair. I reached up to pick at it but every single one of my muscles had felt stiff and sore like they hadn't been used in a couple of days.

I slowly brought my hand down and began to inspect my room. A t.v playing a rerun of Mickey sat in the corner. A bathroom was to my left of my bed and a bottle of painkillers sat on a metal nightstand beside me. To my right I noticed that all the gang was there except for Johnny and Dally.

The memories of last night came flooding back. Johnny dying, Dally getting shot, me collapsing in the hospital. I had to hold in my sobs so I don't wake up the gang. Darry began to stir anyway and I quickly reached up and fiercely wiped away my tears. You don't cry in front of Darry, not even when you're at your worst.

Darry rubbed his eyes to get the sleep out of them and let out a big yawn before walking to the side of my bed.

"Little Buddy, are you awake?" he asked softly and I can't help but hear the sadness in his voice.

"Yeah," I say, "Darry?" I open my eyes. Darry looks horrible. He has dark purple circles under his bloodshot eyes and his usually neat, short hair is sticking in every direction like he had run his hand through it many times. He's still in his rumble clothes, matter of fact, so was the rest of the gang. How long had I been asleep?

"Darry, how long have I been asleep?" I asked voicing my thoughts.

"About two days," he replied. "You had us worried sick!" he exclaimed.

"Wait, two days? You all have been in here for two days?" I said incredulously.

"Well, yeah," replied Darry with a shrug. "Why not? You're my baby brother. I'm suppose to look after you and Soda." I looked around. I understood why Darry and Soda stayed. We were all we had left. Why Two-Bit and Steve of all people stayed was a mystery to me. I decided to change the subject.

"How's Dally?" I asked quietly, awaiting the worst. To my surprise, Darry appeared to be less grim than I had thought he would be.

"Well, he's finally awake," he said after a moment's hesitation. "And he wants to see you," he continued.

"Me? Why me?" I asked.

"I don't know," he said truthfully.

When I tried to hop out of the bed, my legs felt like jelly and my head started pounding. I would've face planted into the ground if it weren't for Darry who caught me.

"Whoa there. Don't exert yourself too much. That Soc gave you a good kick to the head. I'll walk you." Darry said firmly. Slowly but surely I shuffled to Dally's room with Darry guiding me. The nurse inside the room let us in and I tried not to gasp in shock.

Dally looked worse than before he came to the hospital. The cold hatred that was usually in his eyes was now gone. He showed no emotion. It was like he had already died on the inside. His hair was plastered to his forehead and he was extremely pale. When he opened his mouth to speak, all that came out was a croak.

Darry and I exchanged looks. He got the message and left the room with Dally's nurse right behind him. I crept towards Dally's bed and sat next to him.

"How you feeling?" I asked a bit lamely. I think I had a pretty good idea of how Dally was feeling. He smiled. It wasn't a genuine smile. It was the smile of a broken boy who had finally given up.

"Nice try kid. You know why I wanted you here?" he said.

"No," I said.

His face went from blank to serious and he said "Why didn't you let me die?"

I was a bit taken back. Then I wanted to slap myself for being so stupid. Of course he wanted to die. To be with Johnny. He had loved Johnny like a brother and to lose the only person you love, well, it would be enough to drive anyone insane.

"You know why," I said quietly. Dally narrowed his eyes.

"You know Dally, you don't have to hold your feelings in. Johnny was our buddy too. You don't think you're the only one that's in pain do you?" I said.

That's when it happened. He cracked. He just...fell apart. The first tear fell, that was quickly followed by another, and another, and another, until Dally was full on sobbing in my arms. He cried until he couldn't cry anymore and I knew that this wouldn't be the last time either. Dally would need help. He'd need me. And Darry, Soda, Two-Bit, and Steve. Most of all he'd need Johnny but he'd have to make do with us.

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**Please review! I love to read your opinion on my stories.**


	2. Chapter 2

To all the people who thought this was another chapter, I'm sorry to say it's just a author's note. I wanted to clarify a few things. My story has 9 favorites, 5 followers and only 4 reviews. That makes no sense to me. How hard is it to write a review along with favoriting or following a story? I don't mean to make anyone mad but it makes me feel like all my work was for nothing and that nobody really liked the story. To the people who reviewed, I'd like to say thank you for taking the time to review and I really appreciate it. One more thing, this story was just a one-shot and I won't be continuing it. I don't really have any more ideas for it but if anyone has any, don't be afraid to put it in a review or send me a PM. I'd take your ideas into consideration and I would probably try to continue the story. That's all for now!


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